


je te laisserai des mots

by wayfxrer



Series: the gunslinger [1]
Category: Andromeda Six (Visual Novel)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, June has a nightmare, Mild spoilers for episode 3, Minor Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23948812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wayfxrer/pseuds/wayfxrer
Summary: Their gazes meet. Gold and grey colliding softly, tenderly, within the infinite quiet of the room.And then Nova opens her mouth and begins to sing.
Relationships: Female Traveler - Relationship, Juniper Nyux/Original Character(s), Juniper Nyux/Traveler, Vexx/Traveler (Andromeda Six)
Series: the gunslinger [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755358
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	je te laisserai des mots

_“Sing for me.”_

_The words cut through Nova’s preoccupied thoughts like a heated knife, and her fingers stilled their trail across a stretch of books. Whipping her head around, she pinned her eyes to the cocky-looking Guard leaning back in his chair, his feet crossed on the table before him as he regarded her brazenly with a sly look._

_“Are you giving me orders now, Lieutenant?” She challenged, tipping her chin up at him._

_Vexx grinned, sliding his feet off of the table. “Consider it… a request,” he offered, making his way over to her. Nova backed away from him as he approached, and before she could react, she’d been caught between a wooden bookcase and Vexx himself, his hand coming up to brace itself beside her head. “From one friend to another.”_

_She raised a delicate blue eyebrow at him. This game was one of his favourites to play, and Nova was no stranger to it. Pointedly ignoring the heated look he was giving her, she retorted, “Friend or not, we’re in a library. And illegally, I might add.”_

_Vexx rolled his eyes, and she hated how charming it looked. “Your family literally owns the place.”_

_“But I’m not supposed to be here,” she shot back, “let alone make any ruckus. And I don’t sing.”_

_The slow smirk that unfurled across his face sent an electric tingling to the tips of her fingers. “Liar.”_

_Red rose to her cheeks, and she found herself grasping blindly for an excuse. “Oh, what do you know,” she ended up mumbling, and words failed her again when Vexx brought his hand to her face, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear._

_“I hear you sometimes, you know,” he said, the sparking fire in his eyes gone, replaced by something softer. “When I’m on duty outside your room. It’s hard to catch at most moments, and I have to strain my ears, but it’s there. I hear it. And I can’t get enough.”_

_His hand was on her cheek now, fingers gliding across her skin, and all Nova could think about was how he was close enough for her to eliminate the distance between them, to press her lips to his, to fist her hands in his flame-red hair and pull his body against hers —_

_She pinched her thigh. Hard. That wasn’t a foolishness she could afford._

_“Thank you,” she said, and meant it. “But I don’t think —”_

_They heard the wide doors of the library being opened, the chatter of the librarians and book-keepers coming in to start their day, and froze. Quickly, Vexx swiped the book Nova was eyeing from the shelf, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her towards a blood-red tapestry with gold embroidering its edges. He lifted the tapestry, ushering her behind it and into the hidden passageway, their hearts pounding with the fear of being discovered._

_They escaped unscathed, making it back to the princess’s quarters unseen. And Vexx’s request, one now part of a tainted memory, stayed forgotten._

✧✧✧

Nova wakes in the middle of her sleep to the bed shifting beneath her. It takes her a moment to remember that she’s not alone tonight, that she has company, and though groggy with sleep, she turns to the man next to her, brushing a hand gently across his shoulder.

“June?” She calls softly. He doesn’t respond, his brow creased and his eyes screwed shut. He’s tossing and turning, body tense and trembling, and her stomach drops when Nova recognises it as another one of June’s nightmares. 

June rarely stayed the night, and this was why: he didn’t have much control over what happened when he slept, and he hated to let her see him like this. Even tonight took a lot of convincing to happen, Nova finally managing to persuade him after a few choice kisses and some reassurances. She didn’t see him as any less, and he knew that. But she also knew that it would take him a while to come around to the idea of sleeping with someone beside him. 

She slides her arms around him, leaning over to whisper in his ear. “June,” she calls again, sweeping his hair back from his damp forehead and peppering kisses on his cheeks. “I’m here. It’s okay. Come back to me.” 

_It's almost like a spell,_ she muses, the way the words take effect. The tremors that shake June’s body slowly ebb away, and after a while he opens his eyes blearily, the effort seeming to cost him. 

“Nova,” he murmurs, pulling her to him by the waist and burying his face in her hair. They stay like that for a moment, the moonlight from Nova’s window painting the both of them silver, before June quietly whispers, “I’m sorry.”

Her heart is pierced by a sharp and sudden pain, and her hold on him tightens. “Juniper Nyux,” she says sternly, eliciting a half-hearted laugh from him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

He hums, pushing his nose further into her hair and nuzzling into her, and Nova's heart does a little lovestruck flip. “Tell me what I can do to make it better,” she asks him, pulling the covers higher over their bodies. 

June’s quiet for a while after that, and Nova is almost sure he’s fallen back to sleep when he replies, “Could you sing for me?”

Nova’s hand stutters to a halt across the golden expanse of his broad back. The words bring to mind an echo of a memory from a time long gone, a recollection of someone she'd rather forget. But... different, somehow. This is different. June is different.

She peers down at him through the hair that curtains her face. He’s blushing, avoiding her eyes and staring stubbornly at an imaginary speck on his pillow, and she’s sure that she’s never loved someone this much, and that she may never be able to again. “Oh?”

His thumb traces circles on her bare hip, the motion oddly comforting to her. “My… my mother used to do that for me and my brother,” he says, his voice low, and Nova freezes. June’s family had always been a delicate matter between them, especially after that night when she told them who she really was, her own family being no better a subject. But to have him here, in her arms, speaking to her about his family and his past like this... it was almost too much to bear. The beginnings of tears start to prick at the backs of her eyes, but Nova blinks them away. 

“When you used to have nightmares?” She prompts gently, warily, knowing how fragile the moment really is.

June smiles, a bright, precious thing that sears itself into her memory. “When we had nightmares, before bed… anytime, really,” he confesses, voice full of wistful fondness. “We could always hear her, no matter where she was in the house.”

Nova stays silent, her eyes on him as she processes this. June, ever perceptive, reaches up to brush his knuckles against her cheekbone, swiftly adding, “You don’t have to. I know it sounds silly.”

Their gazes meet. Gold and grey colliding softly, tenderly, within the infinite quiet of the room. And then Nova opens her mouth and begins to sing.   
  


_I’ll leave you words_

_Underneath your door_

_Underneath the singing moon_

_Near the place where your feet pass by_

_Hidden in the holes of wintertime_

_And when you’re alone for a moment_

_Kiss me_

_Whenever you want_

When she’s done she looks away from him, her face burning. She’s far from embarrassed; she’s _mortified_. What was she thinking? What if she sounded horrible? What if June laughs at her — 

Her thoughts are interrupted by June turning her face to his and sliding his mouth over her own, fervent in the expression of his adoration. The feel of him is dizzying - _overwhelming,_ his embrace warm around her, and Nova’s head starts to spin. 

When they finally break away from each other, the force of seeing June beaming at her is enough to knock the breath from Nova’s chest. 

“Thank you,” he whispers to her, and Nova feels blindingly electric, like she could power up all the space stations in Seleota with just a touch of her fingertips. “You sound beautiful.”

Nova’s blush makes an unwelcome reappearance, and she kisses him lightly on the cheek, entwining her hand with his. She wants to tell him she loves him, wants to hear it back, but she’s sure she would combust, this moment between them a catalyst for her already simmering emotions. She convinces herself to be satisfied for now with the way that he’s looking at her, like she’s a new star that they haven’t yet found a name for. 

“Go back to sleep, cowboy,” she mumbles, resting her head on his chest and shutting her eyes. “We land on Tilaarin first thing in the morning.”

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to the A6 discord!! 
> 
> — the title and lyrics come from one of my favourite songs, which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcdO9UP0hp8


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